Chapter 19: Time to Show Another Side

“Who designed this part?” Zhang Yifu pointed at the connection under the Oil Filter Machine and asked gloomily.

The worker on duty replied, “This Oil Filter Machine was replaced the year before last. It was a lot of trouble back then. For easier future maintenance and replacement, we made do with this temporary fix. Later, no one higher up bothered with it, so it’s been like this ever since. Actually, tying it up like this is good; it can prevent oil leaks.”

“Yes, not a drop or two will leak out. But if something goes wrong, it’ll just come loose directly.” Zhang Yifu sighed and frowned. “This spot needs to be redone, the pipes need replacing, and the joints should be welded shut. If we keep doing it this way, there will be an accident sooner or later.”

“But… the Technical Department needs to approve this.”

“It’s fine, I’ll talk to them.” Zhang Yifu patted the worker’s shoulder. “It’s been tough. Spotting it right when the fire started was good. This is a design and construction issue; you shouldn’t have had to work so hard.”

“…” The worker stared blankly at Zhang Yifu. He hadn’t expected this new college graduate to speak with such weight, and for a moment, he felt a little touched. “You… please don’t say that. What if it gets to Section Chief Qiu’s ears?”

“No problem, I’ll handle it. You guys wait for the renovation notice.”

Zhang Yifu couldn’t bear to look at that pitiful pipe any longer. He pulled Niu Xiaozhuang out of the Workshop.

Only when no one was around did Niu Xiaozhuang ask in surprise, “What? Is it Qiu Ling’s responsibility?”

“Judging from the scene, I think the main problem is on his side.” Zhang Yifu shook his head. “This fix is too crude. It might be okay for a village’s backup Generator, but how can our factory mess around like this?”

“Dammit! That guy was shouting and making a fuss at the meeting, saying this one was responsible and that one couldn’t shirk it. Turns out it was his own problem all along!” Niu Xiaozhuang’s anger immediately flared up. “And he blamed our brothers in the Maintenance Workshop! With that lousy tape, what’s there to maintain?! Come on! Let’s go find my dad, make it clear right now!!”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush.” Zhang Yifu quickly held Niu Xiaozhuang back. “When bringing up problems to the Leader, you need to have a solution ready first. I’ll work hard to write the renovation plan in the next couple of days. We can go find the Factory Director together with the plan. Otherwise, it’s just pure tattling, pointless.”

“…” Niu Xiaozhuang slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing. “Right! Credit and blame! How did I not think of that! Yifu, your brain is just so good!”

“Let’s not talk about this outside for now. Wait until I finish the plan, and we’ll go see the Factory Director together, get it all done in one go.”

“Deal!” Niu Xiaozhuang finally felt genuine respect for Zhang Yifu.

People in this era had limited cunning when it came to doing things. Zhang Yifu was like a wolf among sheep.

After leaving the Workshop, Zhang Yifu went to visit the coal storage, the power grid Control Room, and other areas. These places were mostly similar to his past life, except the computers were too lousy. Running large software on a Pentium 286 in a DOS system was simply mind-numbing. Most crucially, the Shift Operator typed by poking at the keys with a single finger, making these advanced machines completely useless, a terrible waste.

According to Niu Xiaozhuang, these computers, with memory hovering between 256K and 512K, were mostly purchased for around twenty thousand yuan each. They weren’t bought to do much; it was just for face, to look high-end and classy. Such a big, showy waste of money was probably Niu Dameng’s doing again.

After wandering around for a while and having lunch, Niu Xiaozhuang went back to the Workshop to work on his own. Zhang Yifu returned alone to the office building, found Zhang Lin, and had her lead him to the Technical Department to report.

The Technical Department was a small section with big responsibilities. Although there were only four comrades, they occupied six Administrative Offices. Section Chief Qiu Ling naturally took the best one, facing favorable directions. The other three squeezed into the one next to it. The remaining rooms were used to store materials, engineering drawings, professional technical books, and other items.

After Zhang Lin finished the introductions and completed the procedures, she excused herself and left, leaving only Zhang Yifu and Qiu Ling sitting face-to-face in the office.

Qiu Ling wasn’t in a hurry to assign him work. He just lit a cigarette by himself. In the production Workshop, smoking and open flames were strictly forbidden. Strictly speaking, it was better not to smoke in the office building either, but Niu Dameng had set a bad example in this regard, so people below naturally loosened up. And Qiu Ling was undoubtedly the one who loosened up the most.

As soon as Zhang Lin left, Qiu Ling put on his Leader airs. Holding the cigarette in his mouth, he fired questions bluntly. “Where exactly did you hear about the oil pan?”

“From a book.” Zhang Yifu answered like that.

“Stop kidding. Foreign materials couldn’t be that detailed.” Qiu Ling said with a false smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Tell me honestly. Did the factory where you interned have that thing?”

“Really didn’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Hmph…” Qiu Ling grunted heavily, already convinced in his heart that this kid just got lucky. He must have seen it during his internship, so he couldn’t be bothered to ask more. He said irritably, “You’ve toured the factory, right?”

“I have.”

“Hmm, there’s something I’ll briefly explain.” Qiu Ling tapped the desk. “In terms of administration, people in our department are indeed one level above those in the Workshop. But don’t strut around in front of the Workshop workers. Ultimately, you’re also at the grassroots level, understand?”

“Understand…” Zhang Yifu thought to himself, who knows who’s the one strutting around.

“Also, if you’re going to the Workshop, you need to ask me for permission beforehand. Don’t go on your own.”

“…”

“Say something?”

“I’ll try my best.”

“What do you mean, ‘try my best’?” Qiu Ling’s eyes widened, flaring up at the slightest spark.

“If I can’t find the Section Chief to ask for permission, I can’t go to the Workshop?”

“In principle, of course that’s how it is. Your every word and action represents our department.”

“Then I agree with you in principle.”

“…” Qiu Ling showed a strange expression. “Young Zhang, putting on airs with me, is that it?”

Zhang Yifu had no choice. He hadn’t planned to make things so tense in their first conversation, but he wasn’t the kind of person to act one way in front of someone and another behind their back. He would definitely go to the Workshop often to familiarize himself with the work. Asking for permission every single time would be sickening.

He could tolerate the superior who held leverage over his father, Section Chief Song’s wife. But facing this guy in front of him, Zhang Yifu didn’t have that kind of patience. Normally, clashing directly with a Leader wouldn’t end well. But there are many kinds of Leaders and many kinds of subordinates. When two opponents with a huge gap in ability meet, the tiny difference in rank isn’t that important anymore. Of course, one needed to have already secured the golden thigh of His Majesty the Factory Director.

“Yes, I’m putting on airs because you put on airs first.” Zhang Yifu nodded directly, quite arrogantly pulling a cigarette from his own pocket, lighting it, and squinting through the smoke as he said, “Section Chief Qiu, if you’re easy to work with, I’ll be easy to work with. If you pull this act, I’ll pull this act too. If a truly formidable person bullied me, I’d have no temper either. But you’re still a bit lacking.”

Qiu Ling’s face twitched, and he stared at Zhang Yifu in disbelief.

Damn, this guy was all polite and falsely humble at the meeting. How could he suddenly show his ruffian nature now?!